Chapter 19: Chapter 19

ANNA

The ballroom is stunning, like something out of a fairy tale.

Chandeliers hang from the ceiling, and the lights are dim. The tables are covered with snow-white tablecloths with orchids as the centerpiece. A food table is set up in one corner.

A dance floor is open in the center, and a stage is in another corner with an orchestra playing beautiful music.

There are a lot of people. The king and queen come over to us.

“Hope you are pleased. You’ll be joining us at our table,” the king says, and escorts us over.

“This place looks amazing.” I look over to Amethyst and she gives me a nod, also in awe of our surroundings.

At the table is another elfish man, who must be the prince. He is the spitting image of his father.

“This is my son, Prince Daeric,” Keijo says.

Daeric gives a small bow to Roland and nods to me and the others.

We take our seats as the first course is being served. Everything looks delicious.

After we’ve eaten, Prince Daeric approaches me. “May I have this dance?” he asks, holding out his hand and smiling sweetly.

I flash him a bright smile and take his hand.

He leads me to the dance floor as the orchestra starts to play a song that sounds like “Wildest Dreams.” He is a great dancer, and I give him full control. We practically fly across the room.

I can’t stop smiling. He spins me gently as the song comes to an end, and places a soft kiss on my hand, leading me back to our table.

“Thank you,” I say as I sit down.

Roland flashes me a smile. He is standing at the king’s side talking to, I think, nobles.

Servers begin to bring out the second course. It looks like cheese balls.

I notice that before a course is served they ask for Roland’s approval, which is strange.

~He is only a guest here. Isn’t it the king’s job to approve, or at least the queen’s?~

Not that I mind. The food is amazing.

The orchestra takes us to a new world with the song “Before You Go.” It’s a magical night. Lev and Amethyst are flying across the floor, enjoying the music and each other’s company.

As the music comes to an end, they come back to our table, laughing and joking.

~They make a cute couple.~ I smile at the thought.

The king rises and gets the room’s attention. Everyone sits; Amethyst takes the one seat next to me while Roland takes the other one, keeping his eyes on me.

“Enjoying yourself?” he asks, smiling at me.

“This is magical. I love it.” I flash him a bright smile. Words can’t describe tonight: it’s otherworldly, enchanting, captivating.

“I’m proud to present to you our best and most talented violinist, my son, Prince Daeric.”

The audience applauds the prince as he steps onto the stage with his violin. He starts to play some Celtic music, and the hair on my arms starts to rise. It’s the most glorious melody I have ever heard. I can’t place the song.

Flutes begin to play, and elfish women in white dresses sail across the dance floor so gracefully. They start singing in another language.

I have no idea what they are singing, but it transforms the whole place into some magical world, taking me with them on their journey.

It’s hypnotizing. My whole body has goosebumps and I can’t take my eyes off them. They look like angels.

They slowly bring their performance to an end, and everyone applauds them. The prince takes a small bow and leaves the stage.

~These people sure know how to entertain their guests.~

Lev comes over to me as the orchestra starts to play.

“Would you like to dance?” He gives a small bow as he asks for my hand.

I can’t help but chuckle at him. Placing my hand in his, we make our way to the dance floor and start to move to the beat of the music.

“I love it here,” I say as I place my head on his chest. “This place is remarkable.”

He smiles at me.

“Thank you, Lev. You’re a great guy, and thanks for everything you’ve done for me.” I feel a tear of joy forming in my eyes.

“Aw, Anna, don’t you go and get all soft on me now. But it is my pleasure.” He places a soft kiss on my head and spins me out, making me laugh.

~Lev can really dance. No wonder the women are falling at his feet: he has the charm, the looks, and a heart of pure gold.~

Our dance comes to an end. He takes a silly bow that makes me giggle and leads me back to my chair.

I am exhausted and my feet are killing me, but I don’t want this night to end.

The orchestra plays a more upbeat song, and Amethyst grabs me and pulls me to the dance floor. Everyone joins in, even the little ones. My cheeks hurt from all the smiling.

~I wish I could stop time. Everything just feels perfect, like I belong here, like home.~

Roland’s gaze falls on me, every now and then, with a bright smile on his face. He looks happy. I don’t talk to him much because he is occupied most of the time.

I go back to our table and drink the most delicious wine I have ever tasted. It fills my taste buds with sparks. I watch my friend dancing carelessly, enjoying every second. I feel like I’m in a dream or in a fairy tale.

Roland’s eyes are on me. I look over my shoulder, smile at him sweetly. Everyone here holds him in high regard, even the king and queen. They threw this ball in his honor.

To me he seems to be just a normal man with a lot of daddy issues.

The orchestra starts to play, and this time shivers run down my spine as I recognize Ellie Goulding’s “Love Me Like You Do.”

Roland slowly walks over to me. “Dance with me,” he says, holding his hand out.

I place my hand in his. My whole body is needles and pins. It feels like we are the only two people in the room.

He leads me onto the dance floor, not once looking away from me, and gently places his hand on the curve of my naked back. I take in a deep unsteady breath.

His eyes are full of fire, drawing me to him. He gently runs his fingers along my arm, lifts it as he reaches my hand, and starts to sway us over the dance floor.

I’m lost in him.

He softly rubs my back with his thumb, lighting the fire in my core. He spins me out and in one swift move pulls me to his chest with my back to him, gently placing our hands on my waist, swaying us to the rhythm of the music.

I let out a sigh, looking over my shoulder and staring right into his gaze. Our mouths are so close. I can feel his breath on my neck.

He places his hand on my jaw, brushing a loose strand of hair out of my face, running his hand down over my chest all the way to my waist, leaving a track of goosebumps on my skin.

I lean my head onto his chest giving him more access, shutting my eyes as I give in to the overwhelming sexual sensation inside of me. I know he feels it too, the tension between us.

He spins me out again. My breathing is unsteady and my heart races with every touch.

He pulls me in, now facing him.

“Breathe, flower,” he whispers in my ear, and I let out a breath.

He holds me to him so I can regain control, gently moving us over the dance floor.

The song comes to an end and I push myself away from him, in dire need of fresh air. I make it outside and take in a few long deep breaths.

~That man is no good.~

Amethyst comes strolling out.

“Wow, Anna, what was that? Everyone felt that tension.”

I shake my head at her in total shock, grabbing my stomach as I try to steady my breathing.

She takes me by the arm trying to support me.

“I need to go.”

She looks at me, confused, as I strip out of my shoes. She lets go of my arm and I sprint toward the woods near the castle.

~I need to get away from him.~

“Anna! Where are you going?” I hear Amethyst shouting after me, but I ignore her.

I reach the woods and slide down with my back against a tree.

~What was that? How can he make me feel like this? He must have some spell on me or something.~

I let out a long and steady breath, looking up at the night sky.

~I need to get back home, where I belong, back to my life, my people.~

I hear footsteps approaching.

“Anna?” Roland says in his low, sexy voice, and slides down next to me.

~Just his presence has my heart pumping.~

“Why are you out here?” He stretches his legs out in front of him, leaning his head against the tree.

“I just needed some fresh air.”

I can’t look at him. He has too much power over me.

“Beautiful night tonight.” I can hear the amusement in his voice.

I risk a glance over at him. “It is.”

He looks at me. “You look beautiful tonight, Anna.”

I look back up at the stars. “Thanks. You’re a great dancer.”

He chuckles. “Thank you. You’re not too bad yourself.”

He places his hands behind his head.

~I don’t understand this man.~

One moment we are on fire, practically ripping each other's clothes off, and the next moment we sit here chatting like old friends.

~I’m so confused.~

“What the hell are you doing?”

He looks at me, pushing away from the tree.

“What do you mean,” he asks innocently, tilting his head with a sexy grin on his face.

I narrow my eyes at him.

~Oh, ~now~ he plays stupid.~

“I mean, what are you doing to me? One moment you barely talk to me, driving me crazy, annoying me, and next you strip me of all my sanity. You are the most arrogant, annoying man I have ever met.”

I push myself up.

He rises to his feet, pushing me into the tree, caging me in. He presses his forehead to mine, teasing my lips with his, never touching.

He gently strokes my bottom lip with his thumb, sending shivers down my spine, running his hand along my jaw, down my neck.

I feel every part of my body screaming out for him. He pushes his body to mine, and I let out a soft moan.

He wraps his one hand around my back, pulling me into him.

I gulped, shutting my eyes, waiting for his lips to crash onto mine.

“I’m starving,” he whispers and lets me go with a smirk on his face.

~Bastard! Okay, I’ll get you for this.~

“Coming?” he asks, popping his eyebrows at me.

I narrow my eyes at him, push away from the tree, and follow him inside.

The party is still going strong. Everyone is having fun, dancing the night away.

When they serve the last course, chocolate cake, Roland and Lev are sitting at the table chatting, and Amethyst and I are dancing.

I give Amethyst a devilish grin and go over to Roland. He doesn’t see me approaching him.

I gently slide his fork out of his hand. That catches his attention, his gaze on mine.

Smiling sweetly at him as I take a piece of his cake, place it in my mouth and slowly pull out the fork, not looking away from his eyes. He looks down at my mouth.

~Let’s make him sweat some more.~

I smirk. Scooping up some icing onto my finger, I slowly lick it off. He narrows his eyes at me, letting out a soft growl when I gently pull my finger from my mouth, licking my lips.

“Delicious cake.” Flashing him a sexy smile, I spin around on my heel, feeling his gaze on my back, and go back to the dance floor. Lev starts to laugh and says something in Russian.

~Score!~

Amethyst narrows her eyes at me. “Oh, Anna, that poor man.” She starts to giggle and we dance again.

For the rest of the night, I ignore him and his fiery gazes.

***

The party slowly comes to an end as everyone straggles back to their rooms.

My feet are killing me. I slip out of my dress, pull on a nightgown the queen brought me, and fall to my bed. I am about to doze off when I hear Amethyst’s voice at my door.

“Anna, you still awake?” She peeks in.

“Hmmm,” is all I manage to say.

She plants herself on the foot of my bed. “I think we should stay here for two more days. I don’t know why, but I have a sinking feeling in my stomach.”

I sit up, looking at her worried face.

“Okay. Why are you telling me and not Roland?”

She looks down at her fingers.

“He will not listen to me. You need to convince him. Anna, please, I know something is coming, I just don’t know what yet.”

I can hear the fear in her voice as she grabs my hand.

“Okay, I’ll talk to him.”

She gives me a small smile. “You will need to do it tonight. He is planning on leaving at sunrise.”

I fall back onto my pillow and let out a sigh. “Okay, then.” I slowly get up and pull on my robe.

“Do you know where I can find him?”

She smiles a sweet smile at me. “His room.”

“And that would be where?”

“Come. I’ll show you.”

We walk down the hallway. She stops and points to the double doors at the end of the corridor.

“That is his room. Good luck.” She turns on her heel and heads to her room.

I roll my eyes at her, walk to the doors, take a deep breath, and knock.

Roland opens the door.

“Anna?”

~I must have woken him up.~

His hair is all messy and he is shirtless, dressed only in black shorts. He rubs his hand over his face.

“Sorry for waking you.” I can’t help staring at this sexy man in front of me.

“Do you want to come in?”

I clear my throat and look into his eyes.

“Nah, I’m good out here.”

He smirks and leans against the wall.

“Okay, so why are you here?” He folds his arms over his chest, waiting for my answer.

“Amethyst asked me to talk to you. She thinks something bad is coming and that we should stay one more day.”

He tilts his head. “We are leaving tomorrow. I don’t care what Amethyst says.”

~He sounds so bossy.~

“But I care—and what if she’s right?” I fold my arms over my chest.

“Then we’ll deal with it. But for now, go to bed, Anna.” He turns and is about to shut the door when I place my hand on it.

“Maybe just hear her out.”

“Anna.” He shakes his head.

“Why won’t you just talk to her, at least?”

He clenches his jaw.

“I don’t have the time or the energy to argue with you over this. We are leaving tomorrow, and that’s final!” he snaps.

“Well, then you’re leaving without me!”

I turn and head back to my room. He slams the door shut, and it makes me jump.

~He is so frustrating. What is one day more? Why can’t we stay?~